MK2: PSX vs. Saturn

Kurgan

New member
Okay, I don't want any console wars here either, but anyone play the "ultra rare" Japanese PSX version of MK2? Compare it to the Saturn version?

I'm betting most people can't afford to pay the (criminal) high price for the "ultra rare" version on PSX, but it works great on emulators (I don't care, I own multiple versions of the game including the real thing, I'm a true fan).

Anyone willing or able to compare the two? I remember both had sound effects missing in certain places, and both had load times at inopportune times.

But which was more arcade accurate in terms of gameplay, or were they equal? I have played the PSX version recently, but unfortunately my Saturn and all my sat games (the real thing, not burned copies) aren't with me at my apartment, so I can't really compare, and the emulation is far from perfect yet (last I checked, but I didn't test the latest cassini).

Also for fun, compare the CD-ROM version of MK2 if you like (I've only played the DOS version a little, and only recently).
 
I never played the PS version, but I just assumed that it had to be better than the SS version. The gameplay was way off in that version, without a doubt. The walking speed was way slower than the arcade, characters moved at the same rate forward and backward (in the arcade, if one player was walking toward the other while the other was walking backward, the aggressor would actually gain on the opponent), Kitana's fan lift pushed you off at a different angle, you weren't allowed to throw against the computer, Scorpion could always spear his opponent right after they were knocked down (even following an uppercut; I think it was the same with everyone's projectile, too), and... well, shit, it'd take forever to detail how messed up the gameplay was compared to the arcade version.

Do you know if Probe had anything to do with the PS version of MK2? If they did, then I'm confident that it was just as bad as the Saturn version. Boy did Probe know how to butcher ports of Mortal Kombat games.
 
Based on the complaints I've heard from people with a good knowledge of MK2 arcade, they are both pretty much equally terrible.
 
Probe developed the PS version as well (and were responsible for the Genesis MK1-II, 32X MKII, and Sega CD MK1. I haven't played the version extensively but the Scorpion spear glitch sounds about right, and so does the walking speed issue. Once I got MAT2, I never looked back.

I never owned the SS version, but having played it briefly in 96, I recognized the PS version's audio to be the same. Same reworked music, some bugs. Shang Tsung's "laughing" winning stance is in both versions. Ironically, the music actually sounds a lot like a slightly upscaled version of the SNES version's.
 
Top